If you’ve been following my blog for a while, you’ve already met quite a few members of my food-obsessed, Italian family, but in case you’re new, I’ll give you a little update. Since anyone can use a cookbook or Google to look up a recipe, I think what makes one food and travel site or cookbook stand out from another are the personal stories or unique history behind the dish, the city, the trip, or whatever is being featured. That said, I never planned do have a “family members’ recipe theme” running through my blog, but it’s just that many of my recipes happen to be from, or be associated with an aunt, a cousin or another relative. I have many more to add to the list, including my rocket building brother, Tony, who loves to cook! Here he is making gnocchi~ (see below, updated 6.24.15 to include Tony’s Crab Cakes).

Listed below are my family members who I have featured, along with their recipe (click on the recipe name to go to the post and see the recipe).

My Cousins

And today, I’m adding to this list with my cousin Ada’s Grattini all’Uovo for Soup. The photo below is from many years ago–the baby she is holding is now almost 30! She’s rather camera shy, so hopefully someone in the family has a more recent photo I can put here instead.

Ada is my eldest cousin on my mother’s side, Zia Maria’s daughter and Concetta’s sister–got that? I’m sounding Italian, I know. She lives in Italy, just outside the village where my mother was born, and is incredibly talented in so many ways, but especially in the kitchen!

I remember really looking forward to going to Italy every summer, and one of the reasons was that I’d be able to spend time with my “big cousins” Ada and Concetta, who were teenagers when I was about 7. I’d love trying on their old high heels and being able to sleep in their room.

Ada learned to cook from her mother, so it’s no surprise that the creations from her kitchen are extraordinarily delicious. She’s always sending me photos of produce from her garden along with drool worthy dishes from her kitchen. By the way, those cured Italian sausages in the photo below are probably my favorite thing to eat in the entire world…yes, I think they are!

She also sends lots of pictures of her three sweet pets.

One of the most recent photos she sent me really piqued my interest since it was something I’d never made before. It is called grattini and is basically a kind of grated pasta dough which is left to dry, then dropped into soup; I’ve bought it before, but never made it. Here is the photo Ada sent me~

The perfect soup for these grattini, is in chicken soup. You’ll find my recipe for homemade Italian-style chicken soup here, so I hope you’ll give it a try. The grattini are super easy to make, no kneading and rolling dough, as is required in regular pasta dough. I’m sure Ada will be sending more photos of dishes she’s made, so this probably isn’t the last you’ll see of her creations. And as you can probably imagine, the homemade grattini are so much nicer than store-bought!

Ada’s Grattini all’Uovo

Place the flour in a bowl and make a well in the center. Add the eggs, olive oil and cheese.

Using your hand, begin to mix the ingredients together…

until a dough forms; it doesn’t need to be kneaded, and it won’t be smooth and perfect.

Begin to grate the dough onto a grater, until it is completely grated (removing some of the grattini a little at a time, and setting aside to dry). Separate the pieces that stick together and use a little semolina or flour so that it doesn’t stick to the counter, cloth or tray.

Allow the grattini to dry for at least a few hours, before using. You’ll be able to feel them become harder. If you wish to keep them for another time, make sure to dry them completely before putting them in a container or plastic bag or else they will become moldy.

When you want to use them in soup, just add as you would pasta and cook until ready, about 6 to 8 minutes, depending on the size.

Perfect for any broth or light soup where you would normally use acini di pepe or another type of pastina (tiny pasta).

Chicken broth/soup to cook the grattini in (see my recipe on this site)

Instructions

Place the flour in a bowl and make a well in the center. Add the eggs, olive oil and cheese.

Using your hand, begin to mix the ingredients together until a dough forms; it doesn't need to be kneaded, and it won't be smooth and perfect.

Begin to grate the dough onto a grater, until it is completely grated (removing some of the grattini a little at a time, and setting aside to dry). Separate the pieces that stick together and use a little semolina or flour so that it doesn't stick to the counter, cloth or tray.

Allow the grattini to dry for at least a few hours, before using. You'll be able to feel them become harder. If you wish to keep them for another time, make sure to dry them completely before putting them in a container or plastic bag or else they will become moldy.

When you want to use them in soup, just add as you would pasta and cook until ready, about 6 to 8 minutes, depending on the size.

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I love this recipe and would like to add it to my Yummy Soup library. Do you have a ‘Printer Friendly” button that I have overlooked? I tried the Printer button an the left, but it just offered to print out the entire page. Thanks.

Christina – I absolutely love all the family photos (with their specialty dishes). Your son looks SO much like you! This is very similar to a German soup I make using grated dough – somewhere between what you have made and spätzle. It adds such a perfect texture to the soup! Thanks for sharing!

Christina, reading your recipes makes me feel that you are born to blog In fact it is not only recipes over here it, it is about the warming stories and the lovely writing style. TheAda’s Grattini all’Uovo sounds utterly delicious! Thank you for sharing!!

I think the reason I enjoy your blog and the wonderful recipes are because of the stories. It is such a warming story to know the history behind a dish that you want to make. Your family sounds wonderful and their dishes are excellent to pass down through the family. Thank you for sharing with us.

Dear Christina,
Wow, now I know where all the cooking comes from, it is in your blood for sure. Love the way you added your family and their foods to your post. It is so nice to meet them all. Your children are terrific as well…I love to see and hear about families and their roll in the handing down of recipes throughout the generations, that what my blog is about as well. We are so blessed with this type of family! Love the pets as well, they are very important to the family. Your cousin Ada’s Grattini all’Uovo for Soup is very simple and I can imagine how delicious it must be. Simplicity at its best! Thanks for sharing your family and this very inviting recipe. Have a beautiful weekend!
Dottie :)

Yes, Dottie! It’s included in Italian DNA (as you know, personally!) :) Thank you for reading such a lengthy post; I have been amiss in popping over to your site to see what you’ve been up to. It’s been crazy since I returned from Jamaica! Please forgive me! Thank you again for your lovely comments! CC

Christina, I made your Zia Iolanda’s Sicilian Oxtail Tomato Sauce and my husband told me it was the best sauce I ever made so thank you. I just made a lot of homemade chicken broth and would love to make this soup. You say to boil it but do you boil it in the soup or in water and then drain. Also I am looking for the gadget you make Gnocchi with – any suggestions? Thanks for all the help.

What a lovely post, Christina. It’s so warm and personal and the best thing is including family. It’s such a loving community of family to share recipes and experiences around food…food is memories with those you love. I like the idea of your cousin’s grattini. I love to make soups and adding grattini would be a nice addition to some of my homemade recipes. Thank you and your cousin for sharing! ;)

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Meet Christina

A Scottish Italian cook living in Los Angeles, Christina is usually cooking, baking or (cr)eating something scrumptious. When she isn't in the kitchen, she loves to travel, near and far, as long as there's good food involved. Christina is on a mission to save authentic Italian dishes from extinction, and is constantly promoting Scottish (and British) food as some of the best cuisine the world has to offer—one steak pie and Sticky Toffee Pudding at a time.